Photo: CarPix
The F-Type started production three years ago. The time is right, then, for Jaguar to refresh its two-seater sports car with a mid-cycle update. As we reported a short while ago, the front fascia will be the biggest visual update. Be that as it may, the British automaker has another surprise up its sleeve.
What’s wrong with the pre-production 2017 Jaguar F-Type in the photograph above? C’mon, concentrate. That’s right, the exhaust outlet. According to our spy photographers, the pre-production mule they’ve snapped produces a not-so-noble 4-cylinder sound, which means that there’s a 2.0-liter mill under the hood.
Preposterous! Not quite, though. After Porsche downsized from 6 cylinders and natural aspiration to 4 cylinders and forced induction for the 718 Series, Jaguar took notice and decided to make the F-Type a more attainable sports car than it’s ever been. The square-shaped exhaust tips mounted bang in the middle is the tell-tale sign. In comparison to this design, the supercharged V6 variant employs two outlets and the full-blown V8 exhales through four pipes.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine under the long, swooping hood is, more or less, the same unit that animates the XE compact executive sedan. The most powerful iteration of the 4-cylinder unit produces 241 PS or 237 horsepower and 251 lb-ft or 340 Nm of torque.
That’s a bit of a problem once it strikes you that the entry-level 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman develop 300 PS (296 HP) and sensibly more get-up-and-go. If my intuition is correct, the Leaping Cat will find a way to extract more ponies from the 2.0-liter 4-banger.
Other than the engine, you can definitely tell that this pre-production mule is signaling the advent of an entry-level Jaguar F-Type by observing the size of the wheels. Keep those fingers crossed we’ll get to see the 2017 Jaguar F-Type 2.0 Turbo at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. Keep them crossed again so that the new kid on the block will be fast enough to make Porsche blush. But then again, whatever happens, happens.
Preposterous! Not quite, though. After Porsche downsized from 6 cylinders and natural aspiration to 4 cylinders and forced induction for the 718 Series, Jaguar took notice and decided to make the F-Type a more attainable sports car than it’s ever been. The square-shaped exhaust tips mounted bang in the middle is the tell-tale sign. In comparison to this design, the supercharged V6 variant employs two outlets and the full-blown V8 exhales through four pipes.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine under the long, swooping hood is, more or less, the same unit that animates the XE compact executive sedan. The most powerful iteration of the 4-cylinder unit produces 241 PS or 237 horsepower and 251 lb-ft or 340 Nm of torque.
That’s a bit of a problem once it strikes you that the entry-level 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman develop 300 PS (296 HP) and sensibly more get-up-and-go. If my intuition is correct, the Leaping Cat will find a way to extract more ponies from the 2.0-liter 4-banger.
Other than the engine, you can definitely tell that this pre-production mule is signaling the advent of an entry-level Jaguar F-Type by observing the size of the wheels. Keep those fingers crossed we’ll get to see the 2017 Jaguar F-Type 2.0 Turbo at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. Keep them crossed again so that the new kid on the block will be fast enough to make Porsche blush. But then again, whatever happens, happens.
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